New Penn State coach Matt Campbell inherits a talented roster, but can he replicate Iowa State success and finally conquer top-tier competition? Spring drills reveal his immediate impact.
At this time last year, Penn State was thought to be in the running to win the College Football Playoff.
In January of 2025, PSU lost to Notre Dame by three points in the CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl. James Franklin delivered PSU significant wins in the CFP, beating SMU in the first round and Boise State in the quarterfinal at the Fiesta Bowl.
Quarterback Drew Allar was set to return with key talent in the backfield.
But it didn't take long in the season for the preseason No. 2 team to fold. Franklin was fired after a 3-3 start to the season, but he was seriously under fire after the loss to Oregon at home.
Despite making the decision to begin the national coaching search in October, PSU quickly fell behind and failed to land a new head coach. Vacancies at Florida and LSU quickly overshadowed the Big Ten program.
In early December, the Nittany Lions turned to Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell. Campbell was a legend at ISU, turning the program from a constant punchline in the Big 12 into an annual bowl team.
ESPN thinks the storyline to watch for Penn State during spring football is how Campbell leads the program. Campbell will need to get his roster up to snuff quickly so they can win big games in the upcoming season.
"For only the fourth time since 1966, the Nittany Lions have a new head coach... Before arriving at Penn State, Campbell was the winningest coach in Iowa State history and was a three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year.
"Campbell regularly pulled off big upsets at Iowa State. Can he now win the big games for the Nittany Lions? That inability to do so doomed Franklin, who went 4-21 against top-10 opponents during his Penn State tenure."
Penn State has a favorable schedule for Campbell, which should work in the first-year head coach's favor.
With that being said, it would be a tall ask to expect Campbell to compete with Ohio State, Indiana, and Oregon next season. Most of PSU's transfers came from ISU, a Big 12 program which finished 8-4 last season.